well, what you have downloaded isn't really a "package" but probably the source code in a tarball. You usually have to "compile" it from source, which sounds more difficult than it is.

What you *usually* do is simply this:- Extract the tarball (on the homepage it says "extract in root directory, so try to place it there):# tar xzvf [yourtarball.tgz]This will extract the files to a new directory of the same name as the tarball

- *Read any files that are called INSTALL, README, etc.*I usually do that in vi and make sure I get all the info that's in the files, they usually say something about things you have to take care of in the compiling process

- If you can't find any special instructions you have to follow, configure the source for your system:# ./configure

- If you get no error messages, you seem to be good to go, so next step is make:# make

- Again, no error messages (not sure if you get error messages at this stage) you can do the install itself:# make install

Now you should have the app installed. Before running "make install" you can "make test" test the Makefile, and you can clean up all the files you don't need anymore with "make clean".

- If all worked well, you should be able to just type in the name of the app in a terminal and the thing should be running.

makepkg will produce a tlz package that will make entries in the VL package managing system, with easier removal and updates. For personal use you don't need to compile on a clean box. That's necessary only if a package is destined for the repos.

You run makepkg as root. I'm not sure of the syntax for a package for personal use. Maybemakepkg fbreader.tlzis sufficient. I hope someone who knows the answer will step in.

After the package is created, you install it as root by typinginstallpkg fbreader.tlz(if that's the name of the package).--GrannyGeek

The site at fbreader.org offers several linux packages for download. The first few are packages compiled for Ubuntu/Debian, Fedora Core, Altlinux and OpenSuse. These will install with a single click on the intended operating system. You should download the last available package on the list under the heading "Other linux distributions". This package is a precompiled binary compressed in .tgz format. It does not need to be compiled.

Extract the files from the compressed archive to the root directory. This should place the files in the required locations at /usr/bin, /usr/lib and /usr/share system directories or you may extract the files in your download directory and copy them to the intended target folders. You must log in as "root" in order to copy or extract files to the root directory.

Note that FBReader depends on expat and libbz2 which may very well be installed on your system already. Once you have completed this process you may start the program by typing ./FBreader in console or at the command line. Once you have logged back in under your user name you can create a menu entry or drag /usr/bin/FBReader to the desktop depending on which desktop environment or window manager that you are using. The icon for the application will be in /usr/share/pixmaps. There will also be a fbreader.desktop file placed /usr/share/applications so if you use a kde or other similar desktop environment FBReader may automatically added to the menu.

I too need an ebook reader. I downloaded the FBReader tarball binaries (not source code) and installed according to instructions on the web site which DawnsBoy repeated. FBRreader does require two libraries, expat and libbz2, which seem to be available in my VL 5.9 Standard system.

I issue the updatedb command as root, then the 'locate liblinebreak.a' command to find the missing file. Locate cannot find any file by that name except in /home/tbrown/liblinebreak-1.2/.libs/liblinebreak.a -- where the tarball unpacked.

If I 'make clean' and recompile with ./configure with --prefix=/usr, make and checkinstall, I get the following error.

The file /usr/lib/liblinebreak.a is missing. Clearly, the install script is not moving liblinebreak.a to the correct destination or moving it at all. It also doesn't matter whether I run checkinstall as user tbrown or root. I get the same errors.

If I manually run "/usr/bin/ginstall -c .libs/liblinebreak.lai /usr/lib/liblinebreak.la" and "/usr/bin/ginstall -c .libs/liblinebreak.a /usr/lib/liblinebreak.a" and recompile, checkinstall finishes with the following notice.

There is an e-book reader 'gutenpy' which I like for my needs. I pinched it fromAbsolute Linux.

GutenPy GutenPy makes it easier to find and read books from Project Gutenberg. It has handy bookmarking, line numbering, and word definition lookups. Its catalog browser can use simple or complex regular expression filters for title, author, and subject, and allows you to create a booklist of wanted items that can be saved and downloaded later.